The inventor and the Mechanical Butterfly She was born the first and only child of an inventor and a socialite during a much happier time. The intricacies of their courtship were long lost to history but What is known was documented for posterity and is mostly about him. For he was born to local royalty in a mansion that may have always been. As far back as is recorded the house most certainly existed in one manner or another. The exact year of completion, general location, and duration of